Sacramento Kings the First Team Ever to Accept Bitcoin Payments

Dollars and cents are so last century when it comes to paying for stuff at pro sporting events. For the Sacramento Kings, bitcoin is now an acceptable form of currency. From the press release:

Today, the Sacramento Kings announced they will become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin, a popular online currency. The bitcoin purchases will be processed through BitPay – the world’s largest payment processor for virtual currencies.

Since purchasing the Kings earlier this year, majority team owner Vivek Ranadivé has directed a business philosophy coined “NBA 3.0,” which focuses on investments in technology, globalization and deep community partnerships. The BitPay relationship marks another manifestation of the 3.0 philosophy in Sacramento.

Tapping into a new and innovative digital currency community in which bitcoins can be earned and saved by users across the globe, the Kings have begun to accept bitcoins in the Kings Team Store through a simple checkout process, and will offer fans the ability to pay online for team merchandise and tickets by March 1. With this technology provided by BitPay, Kings fans will be able to purchase Kings merchandise and experiences in a faster and more secure way using bitcoin.